PIGEON FLYING 



PIGEON FLYING 



Pigeon. Examples of crested and other varieties. 1. Porto Rico pigeon. 2. 



Wonga-wonga, Australia. 3. Blood-breasted, Philippines. 4. Nicobar pigeon. 



5. Crowned, New Guinea. 6. Crested, Australia 



plainer grey plumage. It is found 

 mainly in the S. and E. counties 

 of England, and is scarce farther N. 



The wood pigeon is much the 

 largest of the three native species, 

 and is one of the common objects of 

 the country, where it does great 

 damage by consuming peas, corn, 

 and newly planted seeds. The 

 white patch on either side of the 

 neck at once distinguishes it from 

 the other species. This is the species 

 that is common in the various 

 parks and open spaces in London. 



The blue rock pigeon, a smaller 

 bird with bluish-grey plumage, is 

 mainly found around the N. coasts 

 of Scotland and Ireland, where it 

 nests on ledges in caves or in 

 crevices in the rocks. It is from 

 this pigeon that the various domes- 

 ticated breeds have been derived. 



The domestication of the pigeon 

 and its use as a message bearer 

 date from an early period. No 

 remains of it have been found in 

 prehistoric encampments or kitchen 

 middens, but it was well known to 

 the Greeks and Romans, who used 

 messenger pigeons, while the rock 

 pigeon and the turtle dove are 

 several times mentioned in the O.T. 



The domesticated pigeon has 

 received great attention at the 

 hands of fanciers, and the number 

 of strains is now very large. Many 

 of these birds differ in form to 

 such a degree that they appear to 



be almost different species. Darwin 

 selected this fertile group for the 

 study of variation in relation to 

 the evolution of species. 



The pouter is distinguished by 

 its enormous crop, long feathered 

 legs, and upright carriage, which 

 give it an eccentric and uncomfort- 

 able air. The carrier, which is not 

 now the message-bearing bird, is 

 known by the large naked callos- 

 ities around the eyes and the base 

 of the bill. The runt is noted for 

 its large size, and has a long 

 massive bill. The barb is known by 

 its very short and broad bill, and 

 has broad callosities round the eyes. 



The fantails, of which there are 

 several sub-varieties, are distin- 

 guished by their upstanding 

 expanded tails, the feathers of 

 which are often directed forwards 

 over the head. The normal number 

 of tail feathers in the typical 

 pigeon is twelve, but the fantail 

 usually has about thirty, and 

 occasionally as many as forty. The 

 owl pigeon and turbit have a very 

 short bill, and the feathers diverge 

 down the front of the neck and 

 on the breast. 



The tumbler is a small bird, and 

 gets its name from its habit of 

 tumbling backwards during flight. 

 The Jacobin is easily recognized by 

 the feathers of the neck forming a 

 kind of hood which almost encloses 

 the head. The trumpeter, named 



from its peculiar, prolonged coo, 

 has a tuft of feathers at the base of 

 the bill which curl forwards. 



The homer is the pigeon used for 

 bearing messages. It has the 

 homing instinct highly developed, 

 but its skill in finding the way home 

 is simply due to keenness of vision. 

 A bird taken quite out of its own 

 district will get hopelessly lost in the 

 absence of any familiar landmark. 



Pigeons are fairly hardy birds, 

 but need reasonable attention to 

 keep them in good condition. 

 They should have a roomy and well- 

 ventilated loft, be kept dry and 

 guarded against draughts; have 

 varied food, and a good supply of 

 fresh water for both drinking and 

 bathing. See Birds, colour plate ; 

 Feather; Flight; Fruit Pigeon; 

 Pigeon, colour plate. 



Bibliography. Pigeons, W. B. 

 Tegetmeier, 1868 ; Fancy Pigeons, 

 J. C. Lyell, 3rd ed. 1887 ; The Book 

 of Pigeons, R. Fulton, ed. L. Wright, 

 new ed. 1895; Variation of Animals 

 and Plants, C. Darwin, new ed. 

 1905 ; Pigeons and All About Them, 

 G. A. House, 1920. 



Pigeon Flying. Sport in which 

 pigeons race against one another. 

 It developed from the ancient 

 practice of using pigeons to carry 

 messages, and first became popular 

 in Belgium, where races were in- 

 stituted about 1820, a special type 

 of bird being bred for them. It was 

 introduced into England about 

 1871, Belgian birds being brought 

 over. In 1880 a club was founded, 

 and in 1896 the National Homing 

 Union, the controlling body of the 

 sport, came into existence. About 

 1875 the sport began to be popular 

 in the U.S.A. 



Racing pigeons may be divided 

 into two varieties, sprinters and 

 long distance performers, birds 

 flying any distance up to 250 m. 

 coming in the former category, 

 and those able to accomplish as 

 much as 500 m. in the latter. The 

 usual plan is to take the birds the 

 necessary distance from their 

 homes and then to release them, 

 when they will fly back. Hence 

 comes the term homing pigeon or 

 homer. Some birds can fly nearly 

 2,000 yds. a minute, and one has 

 been known to fly over 1,000 m. 

 Squeakers, as the young birds 

 are termed, should be trained 

 gradually by increasing the dis- 

 tance each day, and should be able 

 to accomplish a flight of 100-150 m. 

 by the end of the first season. Rings 

 with identification marks are placed 

 on their legs. The organ of the 

 sport is The Racing Pigeon, and 

 there are a large number of clubs 

 in existence. See Pigeon Racing, 

 W. E. Barker, 1913; The Origin 

 of the English Homing Pigeon, J. 

 Wormald, 1913. 



